Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities

Bank accused of turning a blind eye to vast Ponzi scheme

(Newser) -
Five years after history's biggest Ponzi scheme was exposed, Bernie Madoff's main banker is facing a rare criminal action for its role in the scam and is preparing to settle for around $2 billion, reports the New York Times . JPMorgan is accused of turning a blind eye to...
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Victim pool has been expanded

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Bernie Madoff's victim pool has been expanded to include so-called "third party" investors, or people who lost money they had invested with "middleman" firms that in turn invested it with Madoff. That means more than 10,000 people—initially denied from receiving compensation distributed by the liquidation...
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1,230 people getting checks averaging $2M

(Newser) -
The check is indeed in the mail for Madoff victims: Following a judge's approval, some 1,230 victims of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme will soon receive money totaling $2.48 billion. Mailed yesterday, the checks average about $2 million each, and range between $1,784 and $526.9...
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Bernie's brother to plead guilty later today

(Newser) -
The FBI took Bernie Madoff's brother into custody this morning, ahead of a scheduled court appearance in which Peter Madoff will plead guilty to two criminal charges. That appearance will take place at the same courthouse where Bernie was sentenced to 150 years in prison for his Ponzi scheme....
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Banks buying up Ponzi claims to cash in later

(Newser) -
The wizards of Wall Street have found a way to turn Bernard Madoff into a hot investment. Big banks have been buying up the claims of the victims of Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme, offering scammed investors a fraction of what they are owed in the hopes of making big...
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Annette Bongiorno a flight risk, judge decides

(Newser) -
Bernard Madoff's personal secretary is going to be spending Christmas behind bars. Annette Bongiorno surrendered to authorities in Florida yesterday after a federal judge canceled her house arrest and revoked her $5 million bail, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The judge decided there was a "very real potential" that Bongiorno,...
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Mark's death won't stop cases against brother Andrew

(Newser) -
Bernie Madoff's son Mark may have committed suicide on Saturday but the lawsuits against him and his brother, Andrew, stemming from their father's Ponzi scheme are alive and well. Andrew Madoff, now Bernard Madoff's only surviving son, had the same responsibilities as his brother at the family firm, and is...
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Trustee says bank enabled fraud by ignoring warning signs

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Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme survived for so long because HSBC ignored "red flags" and kept funneling investors' money to the fraudster, says the trustee trying to reclaim money for Madoff's victims. Irving Picard is suing the bank and a group of feeder funds for at least $9 billion, the...
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Bernie's used boxers: The perfect holiday gift!

(Newser) -
If ever you had a desire to buy a pair of Bernie Madoff’s cuticle scissors … you missed your chance. More of the Ponzi schemer’s stuff , including, yes, cuticle scissors, was auctioned off yesterday. The sale grossed more than $2 million—quite a bit more than the $1....
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People who profited likely to face clawbacks

(Newser) -
Thanks to the nature of Ponzi schemes, some people who invested money with Bernie Madoff and got out early enough ended up actually making money. The court-appointed trustee recovering money for Madoff's victims, however, says he plans to sue up to 1,000 of the scheme's "winners" to regain...
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Ponzi schemer serving 150-year sentence becomes celeb in prison

(Newser) -
Bernie Madoff isn't wasting time fretting over the lives he ruined and the fortunes he destroyed. Shortly after he arrived at a federal prison in North Carolina last summer, another inmate was pestering him about the people he had duped, and the Ponzi schemer lost his patience. "Fuck my...
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After Ponzi scheme debacle, regulator is back, with bigger fangs

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Having let the Madoff scandal unfold virtually under its nose, the SEC sounded an alert with the announcement of its lawsuit charging Goldman Sachs with fraud. "The message: The SEC is back on the job," Greg Gordon writes for McClatchy . "The release is very judgmental about the...
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Peter Madoff subject of 'wide-ranging' Ponzi scheme inquiry

(Newser) -
Finance's most-tarnished family name took another hit yesterday when it emerged that Peter Madoff is the target of a criminal probe relating to big brother Bernie's Ponzi scheme. A court filing states that the Manhattan US attorney's office is conducting an "active and wide ranging" probe of Peter, who...
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Even those cleared of wrongdoing can't find finance work

(Newser) -
Add his former employees to the list of of Bernard Madoff's victims—and that includes his sons. Wherever it appears, the Madoff name on a résumé is toxic for those trying to continue to work in finance, experts say. Mark Madoff, who worked for his father for 20 years,...
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Yours for only $6K—schemer's college ring

(Newser) -
Those pining for a little piece of Ponzi-scheme history ponied up more than a million bucks yesterday for disgraced financier Bernie Madoff's stuff—more than doubling the $500,000 take expected. The proceeds from the 200-some items goes toward repaying Madoff's victims, reports the Wall Street Journal in a rundown...
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Pair of computer programmers helped hide scheme, feds say

(Newser) -
The Bernie Madoff net widens: The FBI has arrested two computer programmers accused of helping hide the massive Ponzi scheme. Jerome O'Hara and George Perez will be in court today on various fraud charges, including falsifying books. They are the third and fourth people arrested in addition to Madoff, who...
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But denies knowing about Ponzi scheme

(Newser) -
Bernie Madoff's accountant says he's a lousy auditor but no criminal. Still, he pleaded guilty to a slew of fraud charges today that could land him in prison for 114 years when he's sentenced in February. While admitting that he failed to conduct independent audits and took the statements of...
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Jeffry Picower faced Ponzi scheme lawsuit

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Philanthropist Jeffry Picower, who allegedly reaped billions of dollars from longtime friend Bernard Madoff's Ponzi schemes, was found dead today at the bottom of his Florida swimming pool. Efforts to revive him failed, and his death was ruled a drowning, police said. Picower, 67, wife Barbara, and their foundation were...
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Ponzi kingpin now sharing cell with drug offender

(Newser) -
Bernie Madoff ran the druggiest, most decadent securities fraud in town, according to court papers filed yesterday. Madoff's offices were so awash in cocaine—paid for with investors' money—that it was nicknamed "the North Pole," and the firm hosted drug-fueled parties featuring topless waitresses, according to a...
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Regulators are responsible for victims' losses, suit claims

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Two investors who lost a combined $2.4 million to Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme have sued the SEC for negligence. The lawsuit argues that the commission should reimburse the plaintiffs for their losses because it failed in its duty to protect investors. Regulators had "countless opportunities" to catch...
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